The 22 June election is the first multi-party election for some time, although parties are nothing new in Jersey, with Magots facing Charlots in the 18th and 19th century.
And in the post-war years, the Jersey Democratic Movement faced the Jersey Progressive Party, adopting political adjectives in their titles that are not dissimilar to today’s party names.
But like then, next month’s election will be a hybrid of independent and party candidates, and only time will tell if this polling day will be any different to the rest. Will it be ‘stick’ or ‘fold’ for a full party system this time?
Or is this simply the first step on an evolution to party politics? Or will the project stumble at its first hurdle? Again, time will tell.
With all candidates declaring their intention to stand on Wednesday, we now know that there are 37 party candidates out of a total of 93 (40%).
The biggest concentration of party candidates is St. Helier Central, where almost two-thirds (62%) of the eight candidates are party members, five of them from Reform Jersey.
Party candidates are also in a majority in St. Clement (four of the seven candidates) and form half the total in St. Brelade.
Everywhere else, there are more independents than party candidates.
The Jersey Alliance already look set to have one party member in the Assembly before a vote has been cast, with Philip Le Sueur, facing his third uncontested election for Constable in Trinity.
He is the only party member on the Comité des Connétables, with some of his colleagues on that particular body arguing that they will always put their parish above any party politics.
Express takes a closer look at each party's manifesto...
FOCUS: Inside the Jersey Alliance manifesto
FOCUS: What does Reform Jersey pledge in its manifesto?
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